


Pinkie Promise

by Demon_Cookie101



Series: Prompted AU Oneshots [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Library AU, start of a glorious angry-faced friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-05-18 04:27:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5898202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demon_Cookie101/pseuds/Demon_Cookie101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>PROMPT: I work in the library and I’m a little concerned for your health bc you never stop studying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pinkie Promise

"Hey.” 

There’s no answer. Of course there isn’t. This guy has been hunched over in the same position for your entire shift.

“Hello?”

And you’ve reason to believe he’s been here since the library opened at eight in the morning. You generally start your turn as a library assistant at midday, and knock off at four in the afternoon. It was nearly the end of your shift, you had about… half an hour maybe? Twenty minutes? The library doesn’t close until six, and you’re dead sure this guy will not move his ass until it’s crowbar-ed off the seat and booted out.

 

“Oi. Yoo-hoo. Hey space cadet, you still with us?” You reach over (ugh fuck why are you doing this, this is not going to end well for you, you just know it) and shake the guy’s shoulder.

“Hmm? What?” He squints up at you. He looks about your age, with some dumb bleached bit in his hair.  His glasses look smudged, like he’s been adjusting them every ten minutes or so. And he has, well at least he has been for the last hour. “Mate you’ve been here since opening hour, and you’ve been here since opening hour for the past two weeks. Don’t you have a life? Or, you know. The need of a break?”

 

You don’t even know why you care. You don’t even know this guy. He certainly doesn’t know you. But he’s blinking in that slow way you’ve seen Sollux do when he’s been looking at his dumb computer screen for too long. This guy needs a break, and to not look at a book for maybe a few days.

 

“Yeah dude. You need a break. You’re going to ruin your eyesight.” You give a tentative push at the textbooks he’s got spread around him. It looks like ancient history, Greek maybe. Or roman. It’s full of statues and grumpy faces so it could be either. He blinks at you again, like he can’t really believe that someone is talking to him. It makes you a little uncomfortable, if you’re honest. It’s not your fault you’re a little bit concerned about the kid your age who spends his days in a library hunched over books. Shit’s not natural.

 

“Come on. You’re probably also going to screw up your posture as well. How long have you been sitting there? Have you even move at all today?”

 

He looks a bit like a slapped fish, mouth slightly open now and all confused looking. “Um… Wh-… The fuck do you care? I don’t know you.”

“Good point. But I have seen you here for the past two weeks ginger boy, and you’ve been in the same position practically every single day. You need a break. A big one. And probably sleep. You don’t look too good.” His face twists spectacularly. Like some Disney villain shit up in this business.

 

“Look, whatever you’re hopin’ to get outta this, whatever joke you’re playin’ you can drop it and fuck off, okay? I need this mark. I need to study.”

“Finals are weeks away!”

“So? Some asshole cost me two full marks last markin' session, and I can’t afford to drop any lower.” Great. You just had to find a study nut.

 

“You’re not going to do yourself any favours if it gets to finals week and you can barely move your hand, or function. This shit is not healthy for you. Trust me.” Your brother was the same, and he worked himself into such a state he ended up with stomach ulcers from the stress. It was not fun.

“Just…” You sigh, raking a hand through your hair. “Take a break. A full weekend break starting now. And yes I know if you’re in tomorrow, I have half a morning shift. I’ll treat your ass some much needed sleepy tea shit and send you off on your merry bleached way.” He looks sort of like he sucked on a lemon, but there’s a weird shake to his hands and you know for a fact that he’s going to end up with ulcers. “You’re gonna end up with ulcers.”

 He barks out a laugh at that, almost scoffing at you. “Yeah too late for that.”

 

Shit. Poor soul.

 

“Yup. Tea time. Get the fuck up asshole, I have a friend who works at a little tea store. You need to chill, and sleep. Kanaya’ll have something for you.”

“Wait you know Kan?”

“ _Y_ _ou_ know Kanaya?” What?

“Yeah she’s with one of the girls who helps write the scripts for the theatre kids. Sometimes helps me on costume design when they ask us for it.”

You just take a few seconds to look at him. Really look at him.

 

“Fuck it. Get up, pack up your shit. We’re going to have tea and bag on Kanaya’s wondrous hospitality and maybe see if we can avoid her creepy analytical girlfriend.”

“Rose does need to tone it down a little.” He starts closing his books (after marking the pages with purple sticky notes of course) and packing them into his dumb messenger bag thing. Who even uses those anymore, honestly.

 

“How is that you know the same people I know yet I’ve never heard of you in the entire time I’ve known Kanaya.” He shrugs again, and you can see that he’s leaning on the table a little for support when he stands. His legs must be tingly as fuck right now; you so do not blame him.

“Kan gets that I don’t get along with people and stopped attemptin’ to introduce me to other people after one girl threw a fit and tried to break my bones.” There is definitely a story behind that.

 

You fall into step beside him, watching him a little carefully in case he decides to take a sudden swan dive into the pool of crumply tired limbs. He doesn’t, seems pretty surefooted despite the shakes in his hands as you wait for the lights. Maybe he’s just a normally shaky person?

 

“I was being serious on the long weekend break. I’ll get Kanaya on my side if you don’t do it.” He looks a little uneased, and with good reason. Kanaya is the mum friend everyone fears.

 

“You just don’t tell her and we’ll all be fine.”

“Your funeral buddy.”

“I don’t even know your name; you can’t do this to me.” He pouts at you, honest-to-movie _pouts_ at you. Wow.

 

“Karkat.”

“Eridan. Now keep your trap shut.”

“You know she’ll find out anyway, she’s got that freaky intuitive thing down pat remember.”

“She doesn’t need your help on it, so just keep quiet and maybe I can get away without bein’ put under some sort’a bullshit watch again.”

“Wait, what?”

“Long story.” He waves you off, not quite looking at you.

“If you promise not to go to the library, or any other place and study anything for three days I won’t breathe a word.”

“Do I have to pinkie promise it?”

“Yes. Yes, you do. It’s official now.”

He sighs, but holds out his pinkie. You smirk a little, utterly triumphant and link pinkies. “Now if you break it I’m subjecting you to every bad movie I know. And I know a lot.”

He groans at you, running one hand over his tired face. Now that you’re closer to him, his cheeks, his whole face actually, looks a little powdery. You wonder if he’s covered up how tired he really is with makeup. That just makes you feel a little… sad really. This guy’s trying hard not to draw attention to how much he’s studying that he’s willing to pinkie promise you so you won’t breathe a word.

 

“If you need a distraction from studying, I enjoy terrorising people on various Minecraft servers. If you’ve got an account you can join me.”

He huffs a laugh, his lips quirking up in a small smile that’s gone so quickly you wonder if it actually happened. “Please. People fear my name online. I bet you’re shit at splegg. And those dumb hunger games ones.”

You snort a laugh, shaking your head at him.

“You’re fucking on. But only after you sleep.”

“You never said I had to sleep as well!”

You stare at him, both brows raised. “What the fuck Eridan. You need sleep to live.”

 

He pouts again, and you mime hitting him over the head with a hammer. “You will sleep, and then I’m going to commandeer your couch because my roommate is a shit and then I’m going to kick your ass in various online servers.”

“Is that another pinkie promise deal?”

You hold out your pinkie almost immediately, ignoring the fact that you can see Kanaya across the street with her brow raised at the both of you. “Yes. Yes, it is.”

He smiles again, another little quick one, and links his pinkie with yours. “Okay then Kar.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Not properly read through and editted, so sorry for any irritable grammar mistakes. Feel free to point them out :)


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